Netflix pushes up overall video on-demand viewing

UK – A rise in the number of Netflix viewers is driving an overall increase in viewing of subscription video on-demand (SVOD), according to data released by the IPA.

There has been a 45% year-on-year increase in Netflix viewership, with 29% of all adults claiming to use the service each week – a figure that almost doubled for people aged 15 to 34 ( 54%), the research found.

The TouchPoints data published by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising is based on a representative sample of 6,000 adults in Great Britain, aged 15 and over.

It also found that people are spending an average two hours and 14 minutes each day watching Netflix – six minutes longer than they were in 2017.

The popularity of Netflix has boosted overall growth of paid-for TV services, which include Amazon Prime Video, Now TV, Sky Store and iTunes – there has been a 23% increase in SVOD viewers since 2017, according to the data. The average daily viewing time is two hours and 20 minutes, up from two hours and 10 minutes in 2017. Time spent viewing SVOD is slightly higher for those aged 15 to 34, at an average of two hours and 24 minutes.

Brits watch an average of four hours and 41 minutes of TV and video (including SVOD, live TV broadcast, catch up and short-form video) each day, marking a 2% increase in the past year, with 68% claiming to watch TV or video online each week, up from 64% in 2017.

Live TV accounts for around two-thirds ( 67%) of total TV/video viewing – a slight decrease from 70% in 2017 – but this figure is again lower for those aged 15 to 34, who only spend 41% of their total TV/video time watching live TV.

Additionally, half ( 52%) of TV/video watchers said they ‘binge-watch’ TV episodes, a phenomenon driven by on-demand TV watching, with 79% of Netflix viewers saying they do this.

Belinda Beeftink, deputy research director, IPA, said: “The clear message from these media-related stats is that we are actively seeking out content – good content – via any platform, channel, and through any device. Particularly screen-based devices.

“The broadcast landscape is changing and the ways in which we all take content is changing too. All broadcasters are increasingly at the mercy of consumers’ daily habits, rather than consumers being at the mercy of the broadcasters’ scheduling decisions.”

Respondents were asked to keep a diary detailing their activities on a half hourly basis over a seven-day period in addition to a survey.